The first member of the Bradshaw family listed as living in Halton was William Bradshaw, a well-regarded and experienced tapestry weaver working in London. He was the son of James and Elizabeth Bradshaw who lived in Cockerham, another town not far from Halton, in 1700.
William was a friend of a well-known furniture maker, William Gillow, before he left for London in 1728. He must have been a hard-working and motivated man, whatever financial backing he may have had, as he established premises in three London locations , taking over from Joshua Morris after Joshua lost a lawsuit to William Hogarth. He earned enough money to retire in 1748, returning to the north of England and the house he had bought five years earlier, Halton Hall.
His nephew William Fletcher Bradshaw was an energetic and charismatic man, owning Halton Hall until his death in April 1815. William changed his middle name as a mark of respect to his uncle, becoming William Bradshaw Bradshaw after inheriting it in 1775. He and his first wife, Isabella, had five children together, one of whom, their daughter Elizabeth, was born before their wedding in an act that would have been commented on at the time.
Isabella and William had the following children:
-Elizabeth
– Sarah (1800)
-Robert Fletcher (1801)
-Elizabeth (1802)
– Margaret (1803)
– Mary (1804)
William and Isabella’s only heir, Robert Fletcher, was born in 1801 and was their third child. Robert was possibly a headstrong man, who inherited his father’s character from him, as he married before coming of age. Robert married his cousin Sarah Anne in 1819, he was seventeen and she was four years older than him. It was evident that the two formed a very fertile couple who loved each other, since they had fourteen children together.
His children were called:
– Annie (born 1822)
-Robert Fletcher (born 1822)
– Sarah Isabella (21.04.1823- 25.05.1875)
-Sydney Mary (1824)
-Millicent Jane (1825)
– Henry Yates (26.07.1826- 10.09.1826)
-Charlotte Elizabeth (1827)
-Charles Billington (1828)
-George Wrayfell (1830)
– Phoebe Elena (1831)
– William (01.10.1832- 17.11.1832)
-Cicely Mary (1834)
-Sophia Alice (1835)
-Frances Emily (1837)
Unfortunately, they lost three of their children before reaching adulthood, something all too familiar to others of their time.